Freeing the Slave
by The Abyssal One
Summary: Just a regular day on Minecraft for Bruno, until he comes across an abusive master and his slave. Bruno soon sets out to free the young girl from her cruel master.
1. Meeting

The sound of thunder. Flash of lightning. Searing pain. Darkness.

Another round has started, another round of excitement, adventure, fear, and torture. A countdown has begun, players are frantically scattering from where they awake, each one hoping to avoid misfortune. The numbers are growing smaller every second; 7.3 seconds, 5.6 seconds, 2.5 seconds, 0.8 seconds. A loud crack is heard throughout the map as lightning races down looking for its next target. One poor soul looks up, only to catch a glimpse of blinding light before death.

At first nothing, then the changes occur. A poor dinosaur player's skin is set ablaze and burned in an instant, his eyes vaporize and turn to dust. His hair singed away with the incredible force. Muscles are torn and peeled off his bones before drying up and shriveling into nothingness. Blood evaporates from the mouth, nose, and any other open area. All that remains of a once cheerful player is nothing but his skeleton, charred black as dark as a night sky without its moon. Slight scorch marks are left on the ground.

Such is the game of Death Tag, a rather barbaric game where players that choose to play are forced to see one skeletal figure after another tear skin and muscle off of the living in order to saturate their own hunger for flesh. If lucky, a player will only suffer for a few seconds before the final player is left standing alone in victory before everyone is returned to the overworld with restored bodies. If unlucky they could suffer for a few short minutes, a seeming eternity of intense hunger and irrational anger, seeking nothing but blood and flesh. Some players stay solo to keep from forging bonds with others, fearful of putting a newfound friend through the hell of being devoured by a fresh ally. Still some others forge small groups in hopes their alliance will last until no one else is left, praying to ease the pain of a friend with only a moment of death before the end. A small monetary reward is offered to those who play.

Back to our tragedy at hand, a new game has begun, fresh blood to be spilled. The map chosen at random is a small island formed in a crescent moon shape with a few docks located around the edges of the beach. Two ships can be seen from afar, each with a set of masts reaching skyward. Near the center of the island a large hill can be seen, topped off with a windmill and a small crane holding a platform covered in hay. The windmill has four leaves each with white cloth pulled loosely to catch a small breeze. Down below are a large clock tower that never ticks, and a tall watchtower to monitor the grounds below. Beside this, a few smaller buildings, a church, a barn for storage, and several trees can be spotted scattered around the island.

The charred skeleton sits motionless from shock, before finally rising to its feet and taking hold of an axe lying near by. It scans the horizon looking for a living morsel to devour for a first meal. Looking off to the right inside of the barn, a small rustle is heard. The beast slowly trudges over to a stack of hay, dragging its axe along the ground with a small trail of sparks from metal grinding against the stone. Looking behind one set of hay it spots a young man, no more than seventeen years old. The boy himself wore what looked like an ice cream sandwich suit; the bread if one could call it that was a dark brown color covering everything up to his face. The sleeves and legs looked like pure white vanilla ice cream, cold to the touch but never melting.

Some players have such a strong feeling of either compassion or fear for their fellow humans, wishing not to harm them at any costs. If said feelings are strong enough then even when killed they may retain some sanity and avoid attacking others, or at least friends. This one wasn't such a gracious one, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Flesh" it said with a deep, agonizing voice. The boy merely looked up, one word coming readily to mind.

"Shit…"

With lightning quick reflexes the skeleton swung its axe sideways hoping to remove his victim's head with a clean cut before he could escape. The boy leaped backwards and shot a quick arrow into its eye socket hoping to slow it down. The axe swung and missed, crashing into the wall with a loud cracking sound as the wood split wide open. Just as suddenly it forced its axe out of the wall and prepared for another swing, charging at the cornered boy. He was in a panic, 'Please, not this soon. Not again.' He thought to himself. The axe came down as he ran for the ladder at the end of the barn, but not before he suffered a deep slash through his chest and part of his lower arm. A loud scream could be heard across the island, signaling the start of a slaughter.

He turned and ran for the ladder as the skeleton jerked an arrow free from his socket and once more pursued his target. The boy frantically climbed the ladder as he heard the axe coming down once more. Swinging off to the left he managed to dodge a fatal blow, but suffered another gash through his right leg. The axe was stopped inside the wall, the black deadly figure thrashing its axe violently in an attempt to free its weapon before a delicious meal got away. The boy just managed to escape through the roof exit and quickly took off across the roof, running across another crane and over to an adjacent building. The demon roared with anger and it pulled itself out of the building and looked around for its prey.

The boy stood on another roof briefly catching his breath when another person quickly ran up to him. "Hey Bruno, you look a little hurt, how about I help you out a little?" A blonde haired boy grinned as he pulled out an axe and swung at the now named Bruno. "Dodge you ice cream freak dodge!" He gleefully shouted as he tried to knock Bruno off into the skeleton below him. "What's the matter? Tired already or can't you fight back, stupid archer?" Bruno getting mad that he chose archer knowing such an evil traitor had joined the game not two rounds ago.

"How about you go get fried by lightning jerk." Bruno replied to the boy dodging another swing of his axe. Bruno strafed to the right and tried to make his get away, but the blonde caught him by his ankle and pulled him to his knees. "Too bad wimp" the blonde said as he raised his axe high into the air, ready to bring it down on Bruno's head. "Farwell you fail…GUH!"

Bruno opened his eyes, a shiny iron piece of metal protruding from the traitor's chest. A loud snap was heard, but it wasn't his head that rolled, no it was the other's spine that broke. The undead had been tired of waiting and decided to climb up and settle it itself. Bruno quickly rolled off the roof and mad his way to a nearby tree with a ladder hanging off the side of one of its branches. A few girly screams were heard from the little boy before he lost consciousness, flesh and muscle being torn from his body.

Bruno leapt from one tree to another, then a third before turning around and checking to see if he was followed. He saw both undead now ascending the ladder in hopes to claim the second meal of the round. Bruno reached back, grabbing his bow and another arrow, placing it on the string and pulling back as far as it would go. Aiming right on the edge of the second tree, waiting. The charred skeleton leapt and Bruno released it. The arrow went flying through the air and landed in its chest knocking it to the ground. Once more pulling back the bow with a new arrow, he shot the now mangled corpse of the traitor knocking him too, to the ground below.

"That will teach you to attack me again." Bruno said under his breath as he sat down to catch his breath and recover from his previous wounds. "They'll be back, they always come back, and always with many more." He said quietly before another blood-curdling scream was heard. He silently wondered how long he could last, wishing one day to be able to stand above every other player. Wishing to one day be at the top.

He closed his eyes trying to imagine being able to outrun anyone with ease, never having to worry about death again. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the sounds of several footsteps running at his tree. He opened his eyes and found six corpses climbing into the trees to rip the ice cream right off of him. He pulled his bow back and prepared an onslaught of arrows. "Two other players beside me, I can do this." He thought to himself. One, two, three, more and more arrows were shot but they kept trying to get him, not intending to give up this time.

The sound of a younger girl screaming was heard, sharply piercing his ears. "Another one down, just one left." He began to pray for his survival. Even if Bruno died he would only be in agony for a few seconds, or about four hours from his past experiences. The undead had a terrible sense of time even when retaining human emotions and memories. One after another, he sent them flying to the ground below with countless arrows. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough to stop this next skeleton. A quick swing and Bruno was knocked out of his own tree and onto the ground below. "Damn it" He moaned as he violently hit the stone pathway.

Several corpses charged at him ready to dine when suddenly… the sound of thunder. Bruno closed his eyes, one way or another the game was ending. The undead took too long to finish another player and lightning was to intervene and take another life. An old man croaked and was burnt just as the first was only a few minutes ago. "Better him than me, he'll be fine." Bruno smiled to himself, another win added to his record.

After a few fireworks subsided Bruno started to gradually fade away from the map, one by one the skeletons soon followed. First their bodies became pixelated, then the pixels peeled off their bodies and vanished leaving a series of pale blue lines outlining their bodies. The lines gently flickered a few times before disappearing all together. When the players came to they were in the game lobby waiting for the next round to start.

The lobby was a small floating island in the middle of nowhere, a few clouds surrounding the edges. In the center was a square platform made of stone slightly raised off the ground with an extended wall on the corners. To the left a stream of water could be seen surrounding a small house with some trees growing nearby. Both ends of the stream trailed off the edge of the island creating small waterfalls. There was a small fenced in area under one of the trees, probably used for pets or animals before it was abandoned. On the other side of the stream was a small drop off with a cave system below, entrance wasn't possible due to the cave-in a few years ago. All that was left of the mining expedition was a short mine cart railway leading out of the cave. On the opposite side of the island where a few small stumps with a pond in the middle; some players were seen swimming to cool down from their previous game.

Bruno quickly stood up and decided to stretch before starting the next round. His previous run wasn't so glorious, being caught in the barn, attacked by a vicious traitor, then falling to his near doom only to be saved with seconds to spare. "If I really want to be the best I need to stop having close calls like that." He said to himself. He noticed that only a few seconds remained before the start of the next round, he thought to himself 'I choose Traitor Kit' and a small iron axe with a wooden handle appeared in his inventory. He looked at the platform just in time to see another player appear before shouting "There you are!"

The round began, Bruno found himself spawning on a bookshelf in front of a white action figure. The map was a young boy's bedroom, except that it was several times larger than any of the other players. Straight ahead he could see a stuffed Creeper with a tear in its head letting some of the stuffing fall out onto the carpet. To the left was a bed with a dumbbell and some weights resting on the top. Near the foot of the bed was a giant jukebox with a glass of water on the top. To the right of the Creeper toy was a desk with a laptop placed in the center and two more glasses of water on either side of it. A large window was seen near the head of the bed, a small counter with a glass of water below it. The door to the room was shut tightly and a vacuum cleaner was in front of the door, a spilled water glass near its base. There were flickering lights and overgrown moss dangling from all corners of the room from the bookshelves to the Television, over to the Clock and ending atop the window and framed picture.

Bruno dashed to his right, running along an extension cord belonging to the large vacuum. He leapt to the edge of the door and grabbed hold of some light strings and pulled himself to the top of the picture. Across the room he could see and hear a rather loud conversation. The boy that had joined just seconds before the round started seemed to be angry at a young girl.

The boy was wearing an red-orange suit with a black belt and shoes. His head completely hidden behind a white mask and dark glasses except for some red hair that stuck out behind his mask. The girl below him was wearing a light gray outfit and had bunny ears hanging over the back of her head. She was kneeling down in front of him with an emotionless face.

Loud as it was, Bruno had a hard time making out what he was saying, something along the lines of 'Next time you go out on your own when I'm not around you won't be so lucky. Follow.' Bruno watched as she got up and followed him up another string of lights up to the bookshelves and then onto the top of the window. Without warning, the boy turned around and smashed the top of his axe into her stomach, causing her to double over and nearly fall off. Seeing this greatly angered Bruno and he decided he'd do something about it. He started to make his way over to where they were standing. As he got closer he heard the orange boy speaking, "Next time you do this I'll make you regret it." "I'm sorry master, it will never happen again. I swear!" The girl replied.

"Ahem!" Bruno cleared his throat as he reached the other two. "What seems to be the problem here?" The other boy glared at him, "Nothing, mind your own business Ice Cream." Bruno studied him closer, he sounded like he was around seventeen years old as well, but maybe a little older than himself. The girl looked to be around sixteen years of age, but seemed to be suffering at the suited boy's hands. "The name's Bruno. I noticed you were yelling at her earlier and just saw you beat her. That doesn't sit well with me."

"Orlando," the boy replied. "What I do isn't any of your concern. My servant here has done me wrong once again and she's just getting punished." Bruno looked at him for a second then nodded his head. "Yes, sorry. I understand, please forgive my rudeness." He said before turning and walking a few paces. Orlando turned back and began to open his mouth before a searing pain shot through his head. Bruno had taken him by surprise and landed a blow to Orlando's head with his axe. Orlando fell off the curtains just managing to land on the windowsill below with a few life points remaining.

"Hey, are you ok?" Bruno asked the girl. She just looked up at him with an emotionless face; no she wasn't even looking at him. She just stared right through him like he didn't exist. He heard a groan below as Orlando pulled himself up to his feet before shouting up, "Janice! Kill him!" For the first time since Orlando was knocked off, she seemed to finally acknowledge his existence. "Wait… what?" Bruno said before catching a glimpse of her axe swinging at his head.

Bruno quickly ducked before jumping backwards to put some distance between the two of them. "Hey, what are you…" Bruno was once again cut off as he dodged a downward strike of her axe. "Master has ordered me. That's all." She replied without a hint of emotion on her face. Bruno took a step forward but was met with a harsh kick to the chest that sent him backwards. He looked up to see her running the opposite direction before he heard the sound of something moving through the air.

Bruno rolled to the left just in time to miss another axe, this time belonging to one of the undead chasers. His eyes widened as he leapt up and took a few steps back. One in front of him and three more coming from the chicken frame, all freshly killed. Bruno quickly rushed forward and ducked between the chaser's legs and turned around. The chaser had been led to the edge of the curtains; Bruno gave it a strong kick to the back sending it falling to its death. A loud snap could be heard around the bedroom as the chaser spawned in a new location.

He charged to the edge just in time to send another chaser flying through the air before it came crashing down to earth. The second chaser leapt toward Bruno in an attempt to pin him to the ground. Bruno simply ducked and swept the chaser off the curtains after it landed. The final one took more caution and started with a sideways chop to Bruno's arm to separate him from his axe. He jumped over the chaser's axe and gave it a quick kick to the head. As Bruno landed he raised his axe and sent it crashing down through the corpse's shoulder and several ribs, breaking all of them off in the process. Bruno seeing his wonderfully clean cut quickly flipped his axe around and brought it back up with surprising speed. The undead's head rolled and sent it backwards off the ledge.

Bruno smiled briefly at his accomplishment as he turned around; in time to see another axe headed for his face. There wasn't anything he could do with such little time to react. The axe made contact and sent him off the very same edge into the batch of undead he had just defeated. Before he hit the ground they all grabbed him and ripped the flesh off his body leaving him nothing more than a cleaned white pile of bones.

"What happened? Where am I? Oh, that's right I was killed again." Bruno thought to himself. "If I hadn't saved her, this wouldn't have happened. I could still be alive. No, I shouldn't think that." Bruno scolded himself. "She needed help, I just should've ran when I saw the chasers coming. Heh, I didn't even get her name. What was it again, something like Jenny? It hurts. It's so cold. I- I need… flesh." Bruno's form snapped its eyes open, ready to search for a meal.

He looked around for a moment, seeing the skeletons chasing after Orlando as he climbed up the Television set. "Flesh" Bruno said as he started running to the bed to cut Orlando off. As he made his way to the bed he saw movement behind the small (compared to the rest of the bedroom) toy car positioned under the bed. He rushed forward ready to kill. As he rounded the corner he found her, the very same person that could be considered responsible for his gruesome death. "Flesh!" He said nearly shouting as he approached slowly.

He turned to his left as he heard another voice shouting at her. "Die for me, now!" Orland shouted as he ran across a checkerboard with several skeletons following closely in pursuit. Bruno looked back to her with a smile across his face, raising his axe to strike. The girl simply knelt down and bowed her head. "Do it." She quietly said. Bruno stalled for a second, for some reason he thought about what she had just said. "Kill her!" Orlando shouted at him from a distance. Bruno swung his axe down. A loud crash was heard.

The girl looked to her right at the axe that was firmly wedged in-between the floorboards. The skeleton in front of her sat down. "I'm…Bru…no" He struggled to say. She looked up at him quizzically for a second before replying. "I'm Janice." Bruno looked her over for a second before smiling slightly. 'She looks about my age, maybe a year younger, and she's kind of pretty.' He thought to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted with a loud shout as Orlando was mangled with several axes in his back and head. Janice had just won the game, against her master's wishes. "We're leaving. Now." Orlando angrily growled at her from across the room. Bruno looked back at Janice for just a second. She raised her left arm and trailed her first two fingers down her right arm and whispered, 'French fry bow tie."

Everyone began fading away once more. Bruno felt sudden relief as his body was healed once more. He opened his eyes and found himself in the lobby where everyone waited for the next game to begin. He scanned the area, Orlando, but more importantly Janice where nowhere to be seen.


	2. The Deal

Author's Note:

I'm finding this story increasingly difficult to write. As nearly everyone should know, in Minecraft (especially servers) you as a player can teleport, spawn, respawn, regen health, and so on. Not to mention the reality breakers such as limited fall damage, no damage from small water sources, and zero gravity blocks. All these factors combined, and things like scoreboards and compasses with the mini games make it a challenge to keep writing and making everything flow well. No worries, I won't be stopping this story short because of a simple challenge. However, I do plan on changing how certain aspects of Mineplex work in order to create a more appealing story. All suggestions are welcome, I could use all the help I can get. Enjoy the rest of the series.

~xXx~

Bruno made his way through the thick woods late at night. With only the dim moonlight to illuminate his way he pressed on. "I need to get out of here. I can't stay." He said, gasping for air as he briefly rested against a tree. After a moment he began moving again. His legs were heavy and refused to move any faster, weighing at least forty pounds each. As he walked the edge of the forest came into sight. Bruno pulled himself through the last group of branches and took in the sight laid before him.

A small river ran perpendicular to his path, a few dead trees had been cut down to use as bridges to the other side. Only a few meters farther a stone staircase could be seen, leading up to a large castle. On the left was a thick wall with iron bars to keep intruders out. Behind the wall was a small grassy area with a waterfall leading up to the higher ground of the castle. Back to the front of the castle, at the top of the stairs Bruno banged on the wooden gate. "Someone let me in. I need to speak with your king immediately!"

A lone guard appeared and asked, "What's going on? Can't you see it's the middle of the night?" "Yes, yes I'm aware but this is urgent. Please let me speak with your king as quickly as possible!" Bruno hastily responded. "Mmm, very well." The guard responded before disappearing around the corner. One by one the leaves blocking his way vanished, leaving a few white sparkles behind before disappearing. Bruno ran through the gate, "Thank you sir!" he called out. The warhorse simply nodded and began to replace the wall's front gate.

Bruno ran straight ahead and up the twisting path to the main castle near the top of the hill. As he reached the top he looked around and saw the path leading to the castle's entrance. He quickly followed the path and turned the corner ignoring the squids swimming up the lava river. Up ahead was the entrance to a small courtyard; just outside the door was a bridge leading to the kennel where the guard spiders were kept. Bruno rushed inside to find the king resting on the ground. "King Sparkles we need to prepare for an attack. Several undead are trying to destroy your kingdom, they'll be here any minute!"

As Bruno got closer he was thrown into shock at the sight laid before him. "J-Janice?" He shakily said as he saw the girl eating the flesh of the once great king. She didn't respond. "Janice, what are you doing here? What have you done with King Freeman?" Janice looked behind her, flesh stuck in her teeth and blood dripping down her chin. "Oh. It's you again." She said with emotionless eyes. "I was wondering something. Why didn't you help me back there? Orlando beat me and you just watched and laughed." "What? No I came to help you. I don't want to see anyone getting beaten up like a slave." He quickly corrected her. "You beat me. You hurt me so much." "No! That isn't true! What's going on?" Bruno shouted in a panic. Janice stood up, staring at him with a coy smile. "You'll make an excellent meal little goat."

Bruno was overcome with fear at the sigh of her blood stained clothing. As Janice started to approach him with an Iron sword he quickly ran out of the tent into the desert. "Where do you think you're going?" the cactus soldiers snarled at him. "No! Please no!" Bruno shouted before falling down, tears streaming down his eyes. "We have a special place for people like you" the cactus soldiers cackled evilly. The ground tore open behind Bruno as the cactus soldiers pushed him inside.

Bruno screamed as he fell through the cavern into the fiery depths of hell. "I've been expecting you Bruno." Herobrine shouted from the bottom of the pit. "I've already prepared your eternal torture, Janice will be repaying you dearly for your beatings in your past life." "No. No. NO! NOOOOO!" Bruno screamed as loud as he could as he fell into the boiling witch's cauldron. "Time for stew!" the witch cried out.

Bruno fell and smashed his head against the floor. "Son of a biscuit!" he shouted as he sat up from the floor. Looking around he found himself in his bedroom; he was sweating bullets from his previous encounter. "Just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. The undead aren't attacking and I didn't hurt Janice. Just calm down Bruno." He kept saying to himself. 'Notch almighty that was terrible' he thought to himself. "Janice…" he quietly said, thinking about the girl that had been beaten earlier that day. "I need to find her again. I can't stand it if anyone was treated like a slave again." He climbed back into bed and went back to sleep, praying for peaceful sleep.

The next day: Early afternoon.

"Bad chili. Who would have thought?" Bruno muttered under his breath as he sat in the main Mineplex lobby.

The lobby was a large floating island with a few smaller islands nearby in a vast sea of nothingness. In the center was a stone platform in the shape of an X with large pillars at each end. On top of the pillars were Bonsai Trees growing, about ten meters tall each, one had a small pond that dropped down to a pool near its base. Portals were lined up around the stone platform in the shape of a square, but without corners, each leading to its own mini game or survival mode. Far above the island was a large glass, orange M that stood for the name of the server.

Bruno was sitting on a bench near the Death Tag portal. 'Let them pass through here today. Just this once.' He thought to himself. He had been waiting most the morning for either Orlando of Janice so that he could figure out what the guy's problem was from the day before. Luck didn't disappoint him.

A few moments later he spotted Orlando walking towards the portal. Bruno leapt up and called out for him. Seeing the boy from earlier, Orlando turned and simply replied, "What?" with a slightly disgusted tone. "What the hell was that about yesterday? Janice served you and then you treat her like crap and order her to die for you. Are you touched in the head?" Bruno growled angrily.

"Oh, she told you her name did she? Shame" Orlando simply responded. "Since you're so obsessed with it, she's my slave, servant, puppet. Whatever you want to call it. Why she is in my debt isn't of any concern to you. If you'll excuse me I've got things to do." He said turning away. Bruno quickly grabbed his hand. "Wait." Bruno said commandingly. Orlando seemed rather ticked, but decided to humor him anyway. "Something you want to say? Go on. Get it off your chest Ice bar." He replied.

Ignoring his remark Bruno continued, "What could I do to get you to let her go?" Orland seemed amused at this. "Out of the question, but since you've seemed to become so fixated on her, I'll grant you a round with her. Any objections?" Orlando deadpanned at him. Bruno thought for a minute before agreeing. "You'll find us at the twenty-third server." He said before walking into the portal and vanishing.

Bruno walked up to the portal; it was a basic stone frame with a purple haze, although the ivy had grown over it from a lack of tending. 'Server twenty-three' he thought to himself as he walked through. A few seconds later he was in the Death Tag lobby with three other people, Orlando and Janice included. They both stood beneath one of the trees near the old house

"Hi." Bruno said with a friendly smile to Janice as he walked up. She just looked at him before Orlando spoke up. "I decided to offer you a proposition. I've got a certain phrase I use with her. If you can guess it with only three hints then I'll let you spend a round with her, completely free until it's over." Bruno looked at him for a second before nodding slightly. "You can ask her any three questions. You have until the round starts." Orlando told him.

Bruno closed his eyes, thinking deeply about what questions to ask. After a moment he opened his eyes and asked, "How many words are there? What is the phrase's topic? Is there anything unique about the phrase?" Janice replied, "Four words, food and clothing, and the phrase rhymes." A grin spread across Orlando's face, 'Clearly he thought that through. Won't get him very far though.' He thought.

Bruno racked his mind as he rapidly discarded several possibilities. 'Four words that rhyme, and consist of food and clothing; damn he didn't make it easy.' He thought. He looked at Janice in hopes of getting a subtle fourth clue. Janice, as if reading his mind, brought her first two fingers of her left hand and brushed them down her right arm. "Janice!" Orlando said suddenly. "I told you several times to stop with that annoying habit of yours." "Forgive me master." She responded.

"Habit?" Bruno asked quizzically. "Yeah, something like a nervous habit that I've been trying to break for a few weeks now." He paused. "Have an answer yet? If one more person joins the round starts." Orlando grinned at his nearing triumph. 'Habit. So she's done this before. Now that I think of it she did that once when we first met. Crap what was it she said?' Bruno thought to himself, quietly cursing his foggy memory as an undead corpse.

"Only ten seconds left. Looks like I…" "French fry bow tie!" Bruno interrupted the orange suited boy. "… lose. Fine you get one round. Do whatever you wish but it can't involve killing me. Understand?" Orlando finished. "Thank you." Bruno said as the timer hit zero. One by one the players faded away as they were moved into the map.

As the players appeared in the next map they instantly took to the hills and nearby rooftops. The scorching heat of the old Wild West was eagerly trying to roast them alive. The town was long abandoned, built inside a deep canyon years ago. Looking to his left Bruno could see a small hill with some kind of storage house at the top, filled with some gold ore and missing all its walls. Behind the rows of houses that obscured his view was a railroad that exited from a cave. Had it not been for the fact that said cave collapsed a long time ago, the players would probably try and make an escape through there. Near the tracks, a run-down train station could be seen along with a large water tower, slightly leaking what little water was left. Aside from that there weren't any noticeable landmarks that stood out from the rest of the town.

Looking up the hill Bruno spotted Janice running down to meet him. He motioned for her to follow him into the house behind them. The house had an opening at the bottom with a small library and table underneath a staircase leading up to the second floor. The second floor wasn't much different, except it was covered with more cobwebs. Outside was a balcony shading the front porch below. On both sides of the house were ladders granting access to the top of the roof.

Lightning came down and struck a player, following the crash were cries of anguish and pain. Bruno looked out from the second floor, keeping an eye out for any corpses that would try to interrupt his time with Janice. Aside from a few players running around in terror, the ghost town was a nice place to be. He noted the beauty of the sandy-red canyon walls before turning to Janice.

"Ok, I've got a few questions before anything else. First off, why did you tell me that phrase earlier, did you know that this would happen?" He asked her with a slight irritated voice. "I've waited for someone that might help me, but you're the first one that has ever stepped in. When you resisted the urge to slaughter me I figured you might be the one that could do something." She replied in a soft voice. "So am I just a scape goat to get you out of this mess?" He said with an added edge to his tone. Janice averted her gaze, "No, I just found it kind-hearted of you to step in back there."

There was a brief silence between the two before Bruno spoke up again. "So why do you let that Orlando jerk do this to you? Is he some abusive boy friend or older brother?" "No, I simply owe him a debt that I need to repay. It has been like this for as long as I can remember; even I don't remember why I'm doing this in the first place. All I know is that I must serve him until it is repaid." She replied, turning back and meeting his eyes once more. "Do you want to be free again? Surely you can't enjoy suffering every day like this. Besides, you're a good player. I've seen you run, so why keep serving him?" She gave him no response. "What… what if I could help? Pay him I mean, so that you wouldn't have to be abused?" Janice's feature brightened slightly at this. "You mean that? You'd really help me out like that?" She asked with a glimmer of hope in her voice.

Bruno closed his eyes in thought for a few seconds before he looked back at her. "Yes, I don't know if it would cost gems or shards, or even my own service to him, but I'll help you." He said with determination. Janice blushed slightly, thinking to herself 'First he displays the willpower to reclaim his senses while dead, a trait only some players came do because they care enough about the player they wish to protect. Now he offers even himself for my sake?'

Returning from her thoughts she noticed him slightly sweating. "You aren't going to melt on me are you? I'd hate to have to clean up the mess." She said, warming up to him a little more now. It was Bruno's turn to blush. "Wha… NO! I mean… I don't melt I just, get a little warm is all. Yeah…" The bunny girl decided to tease him a bit more. Even if he left her she didn't want to pass up this opportunity. "Is that a blush I see or are you turning strawberry from the heat?" She said mockingly. This only caused Bruno's already crimson face to deepen even more.

"Oh, before I forget." Janice said handing him a slip of paper. "Here's my locater information." "Wow, thanks Janice." Bruno said as he took the sheet from her. 'Damn, I can't lose this. If I wouldn't have forgotten my information watch at my house I could add it right now. (A/N: An Information Watch is like a digital watch that acts like a tracer. Each one has a number that can be used among friends to locate what lobby they're in, as well as check the stats of another player.)

They both heard a sudden thump on the roof above them. Quickly stopping their conversation, hoping not to alert what could be a threat to them. The sound of footsteps could be heard as it reached the edge of the roof, as if their prayers were denied, a charred skeleton jumped down onto the balcony just a few meters away from them. It was facing away, overlooking the ground below for another target. Bruno held his breath tightly as Janice slightly moved behind him. The skeleton turned its head slightly just enough to send a tremor of fear into the two humans behind him. Without warning it leapt down and ran after another player.

"That was close." Bruno said, barely above a whisper. An axe soon after came flying into the house, just missing Janice's head by mere inches. The first skeleton didn't notice them, however they weren't so lucky with the second one that had been passing through. Quickly jumping up, Bruno took his own axe in hand and slashed at the monster's head. Slightly stunning it, he shouted at Janice to start running. She did just that and leapt to the staircase on a nearby house, looking back for just a moment.

Seeing her out of harm's way, Bruno kicked the skeleton hard in the nards. No reaction. 'Crap, why did I think that would work!?' Bruno cursed himself. The Black Death quickly retaliated with a swipe at his arm, just missing as Bruno slid under his arm and off the roof. It quickly took hold of its axe and pursued Bruno. He quickly made his way up some dead stumps onto a roof; looking back Bruno saw not only the first skeleton, but also two other corpses now chasing after him. He quickly jumped to the top of the well nearby and onto the raised platform used for hanging criminals. How appropriate that the rope would get caught on his foot and trip him up mid-jump. He turned around to see one of the corpses leaping on him. "NOT AGAIN!" Bruno cried out in anguish.

Lucky smiled upon him, if only briefly. He was the last one killed and was able to move onto the lobby with mild insanity. As he looked up he noticed Orlando sitting on top of the gallows, seemingly smiling behind his mask, looking down at him in victory. Both boys and the many corpses vanished, moving back to the game lobby. After coming to, he noticed Orlando casually walking over towards him. "Hope you enjoyed that round. Now if you'll excuse me, my slave and I must be off." He said coldly.

"Wait!" Bruno said in a commanding tone. "I wish to buy Janice's freedom. How much does it cost?" Orlando simply looked at him, slightly stunned. "You're rushing things a lot today aren't you?" He asked in an irritated manner. "How much do you have?" "I asked you first." Bruno replied. "I suppose you don't care that much to help her then?" Orlando retorted. Neither of them said a word for a minute. Janice simply looked between the two with an impassive face.

"What's her worth as is?" Bruno asked bluntly. "Five Micro-Shards a day." Orlando answered. (A/N: 100 Micro-Shards is equivalent to 1 Shard.) "That's it?" Bruno responded, slightly irritated that she wasn't even worth very much for her service. "How much are you willing to pay for her?" Orlando asked again. "Whatever her debt is." Bruno said. After a moment Orlando spoke up again, "Lobby seventeen. Don't keep me waiting." He and Janice then disappeared, Bruno quickly left for his destination.

Once in the lobby, Bruno quickly located the two he was looking for. As he walked up to them, Orlando pretended not to notice his existence. "How much?" He asked once again. "Well, considering her debt, and how much she's served me already… I'd say about one hundred fifty thousand Shards, plus another four hundred twenty thousand gems. When can you pay?" Bruno gaped at him in shock. 'What the hell did she do to owe him that kind of money? Shit even the wealthiest people would think twice about paying that kind of price!' He practically yelled in his mind, regretting the situation he just put himself into. "Guess you don't want to pay after all. No big deal, we're done…" "Wait. I'll pay" Bruno said, cutting the orange-suited boy off once more. "I don't take I.O.U.'s or monthly payments. Everything upfront. Let me know when you have the money." Orlando said. "Let's go Janice."

Orlando turned to her and quickly added, "I'll get the money for sure. Just hang in there." Janice once again blushed slightly. 'I don't believe this. He's actually going to pay my debt?' She felt her face heating up as she looked at him. 'Wait, am I falling for him? No! This is stupid. I just met him and we don't even know anything about each other. Getting my hopes up will just make life worse.' She thought to herself before following Orlando.

Bruno watched them until the walked through another portal. After they were out of his sight he stumbled backwards into the bench nearby, needing to sit down and recover. 'One hundred fifty thousand shards and four hundred twenty thousand gems.' He kept repeating over and over in his head. "Damn it! Damn it all!" He said without realizing he was shouting. "How can I come up with that kind of money?" He shouted even louder as he smashed his fist into the bench. Blood trickled down his fingers, his knuckles freshly split open and gushing blood from he recent act.

"Um, is everything ok?" Bruno looked up to see who had just addressed him. "Are you in a lot of pain?" A young girl asked him. He looked her over for a second. She was wearing a red jacket and brown shorts. Her skin was a dark brown, her hair a near-black color, but most noticeable about her were her eyes. One red eye, and the other a deep blue, some might even say it was purple instead. The final feature he noticed was her wolf-like ears. He averted his gaze and looked his hand over before pulling out some cloth and wrapping it up.

"I'm fine." Bruno said quietly, not wanting to look her in the eyes. "You said something about money right?" She asked. "I guess. It's nothing much." He replied as he finished wrapping his bloody hand. "How much do you need? Maybe I could help you a little." She said with a friendly smile. "I've got three thousand Shards and just over seventy thousand gems. I need one hundred fifty thousand and four hundred twenty thousand respectively to pay this person's debt. Don't waste your money on me." "Wow, that's a lot." She gasped, visibly shocked. "Even on some of the better games, you don't earn more than a few hundred gems, and shards are very hard to come by outside of daily rewards."

"I'm well aware of that. So what do I do now? I can't keep her waiting for years but it has to be all upfront or no deal." "Is she your girlfriend?" the dark skinned girl asked in amusement. "What? No, she's just someone I met recently!" He quickly said, ignoring her slight giggle at his reaction. "Well, there's no way I can do anything, but maybe you could search out The Savage and ask his help?" "The who?" Bruno asked slightly confused. "Oh?" She replied with a hint of confusion. "According to your stats you play Death Tag a lot, but you haven't even heard of him?" "Guess not." He replied.

"Well, his name is justified. He's truly a savage in the game. Actually, I think he's one out of a very, very small number of people that completely retain their human side when they die. It's just that, well…" She paused for a second. "He's really mean. He'll kill anything that moves and doesn't think twice about it. Sometimes he'll die just so he can go and kill others instead of winning. He's got a lot of wins, and more importantly, he's really rich. He runs a small business where he loans money to help others and they repay him later. I'm sure he can help you if you can find him."

Bruno looked at her for the first time since she first approached him, shock clear across his features. "R… really?" He asked in disbelief. This was too good to be true. "His rates are a bit steep depending on how much you ask for, but he never breaks a deal and he's always generous about how long it takes to repay him. In fact, some people take a few months or even years because of their gambling debt and he doesn't care at all. If he gets some every month he won't bother you in the least. He also won't harm any current clients as a show of his gratitude." She explained. The more she talked the more it seemed like a fantasy.

"I'll do anything to help. After seeing how that jerk treated her, I can't let this go on any longer. How do I find him and what does he look like?" "Well…" The wolf girl replied. "He only gives his name out to his clients, can't help you there. To find him, just hop from one Death Tag lobby to another and you might find him eventually. Shouldn't take more than a day or two at the most. As for what he has…" She continued explaining everything she remembered. Bruno paid close attention to every detail, about his hair color, clothing choices, and all other features that would help identify him as The Savage. "…and a vile look in his eyes, not to mention his radiating blood lust. I've only seen him twice and both times I was chilled to the bone. He never got close though, I died before he could get me praise Lord Notch for that."

"Thank you for all the information. I'll be sure to tell you what I come up next time we meet!" Bruno called over his shoulder as he darted towards the Death Tag portal. "Wait! You didn't even get my locater infor…mation… Oh well, if he doesn't get himself truly killed then we might meet again." She said to herself as he vanished into the portal.

'I'll find this so-called savage and get the money I need!' Bruno thought to himself with determination. 'It's evening, almost night time already, but that won't stop me from searching right away!'

In the darkness of his room, Orlando sat down at his desk, crossing his arms and closing his eyes for a moment. After a while he brought his hands up and folded them, resting his head on the backs of his hands. "Yeah, this could work." He muttered to himself as he picked up the phone.

"Hey… Yeah I've got a job for you…"

~xXx~

Sorry for the long wait. I originally made this chapter longer and was only planning on three chapters total. After some heavy thinking I decided to edit this chapter and shorten it a lot. I've taken off the original ending and moved it to the beginning of chapter three, so hopefully it won't take as long to finish as this one did. Still not sure if I'm going to try for four chapters or settle for three, it all depends on inspiration I suppose.


	3. Freedom

(A/N): Sorry for the long update time. I kind of thought I'd have this one done after a week or two, but that didn't happen. Writer's blocks suck don't they? A quick warning, I decided to use some stronger language for emphasis. I don't advise repeating certain words you read.

~xXx~

Bruno gazed down from his perch up in a tree, scanning the grounds for anyone that fit the description he got from the wolf girl. It had only been around two hours, not nearly enough time to call it a night, but he was beginning to get frustrated with his fruitless efforts. 'The longer I take the longer Janice has to wait to be freed. Not to mention serve that loathsome person.' Bruno thought to himself. He began to think back on his search.

"Hey, not a problem man. I'll help you keep an eye out for this guy, it's the least I can do for someone that got bit in the ass by the good-old Love Bug." Bruno blushed at this. "Th- there's nothing between us! I just want to help her is all." He stammered back at the rather casual-looking boy he was speaking with. "Really?" The brown haired boy replied. "They way you described her, it sure sounds like love at first sight." Bruno simply glared at him. "Relax, I understand your problem. I'll go to another lobby so we can cover more ground. If I find anything I'll shoot you a message."

There weren't a huge number of people willing to help him search, but Bruno was thankful for the few that wished to help. Although he appreciated the help, that last guy was a bit over the top. 'Can't complain when someone's helping you I suppose.' Bruno mused to himself.

He was suddenly torn from his thoughts at the sound of a scream. He looked off to his left; a young gentleman not much older than him had just tripped over a tree root and was devoured by an undead corpse. The round ended, giving Bruno yet another win. 'If I had as much luck finding this savage as I do with winning I'd be done by now.' He thought to himself.

Back in the waiting lobby, Bruno selected the Traitor class and made his way over to the quiet stream of water. He sat down on the fallen tree resting above the flowing waters, looking down at his reflection. He glanced at his locater on his right wrist to see what map had been chosen this time. "Bedroom, great" he muttered to himself, as the game begun.

Looking around, Bruno found himself on the bed near the large dumbbell left astray. Deciding the best spot to keep an eye out for The Savage would be someone up high, he quickly climbed the Christmas lights to the window. Being up here always put him on edge, there wasn't much room to stand and it was a sure strip to death if he fell off the side. He scanned the desk first, looking at the players scrambling up another set of lights scrambling for the framed chicken picture. Nothing. Looking over to the Television he failed to find his target. Turning back to the left he didn't spot anyone atop the frame. He began to wonder if he should call it a night and get some rest; he could always start early the next morning.

Suddenly his blood ran cold. He realized he forgot to watch his own back while he was searching the map. He sensed someone from behind, with enough blood lust to scare a moderator. Bruno didn't even think, he just turned with his axe in hand to knock the chaser off the edge. To his surprise the head of his axe met another player's skull, sending a loud crack sound throughout the room. Bruno's eyes widened at the sight. Long black hair, red eyes, a teal-plaid jacket, and most noticeably fox ears and a blonde tail. Was that really it, The Savage he was searching for? The boy in question grinned, as time seemed to slow down to a halt. He dropped his bow and said in a low voice, "See you in a minute."

Bruno smiled for a split second; it had to be him! He glanced off the edge as he watched the fox-boy fall down and suddenly stop on the floor, killing him. Realization kicked in at what he had just done, looking down at the new undead chaser. His mouth was agape as he thought to himself. 'I'm fucked.'

The undead quickly sprinted off to the bed and started climbing the lights with surprising agility. Bruno hadn't even looked back, he ran for his life. He haphazardly ran across a dangling string of lights to the picture frame, and shouted ahead to the other players with a clear tone of panic, "Get out of my way!" One traitor simply decided to trip him, "You should cool down a bit." Bruno was sent downwards into a glass of water.

As he rose to the surface he looked up and saw one runner after another scream and thrown off the edge of the picture. Just like a meteorite shower, one by one they slammed into the desk, and one falling all the way to the floor. His eyes widened yet again as he saw the Savage dive down, head first, into Bruno. He gasped for air, but only water filled his lungs as he tried to fight off his previous victim. He felt a sharp pain in his gut as the Savage kneed him hard to immobilize him. The water started turning a nice, deep, crimson red.

After a moment, Bruno realized he was alone in the glass of tainted water. He pulled himself up to the rim and scanned around. He saw the Savage chasing two other players… on the Television? "Was I out that long or is he really that fast?" Bruno questioned aloud. He saw one player push the other back and jump to the shelf nearby. The Savage quickly slashed the player with a near fatal wound and picked him up by the ankle. With a quick spin, the player was flying through the air and crashed into the Traitor that tried to end his life, sending both of them sailing downwards to the cold floor below.

Bruno felt like hiding in his own pool of blood, nothing but pure terror kept his undead instincts from even trying to take control. "He ended the game in just three minutes, and not only got eleven kills, but killed both the final players. No winner." He quietly said as he retreated back into the blood bath.

'Game Over! No Winner!' was displayed on everyone's locater screen. One by one they returned to the waiting lobby. Bruno decided to try and grow a pair and talk to the Savage. Scared as he was, he needed to do this for Janice.

"Um, e-excuse me. You're The Savage, aren't you?" Bruno stuttered as he approached the red-eyed boy. He turned and simply looked at Bruno with a deadpan stare. "Tch, how's you come across that name?" he replied with a hint of annoyance.

Bruno quickly thought about backing out. He didn't seem to be the least bit friendly, but then again he couldn't afford to walk away now. "Some wolf-girl told me about you. I've got a money problem and she said you could help." He replied, nervousness clearly heard in his tone.

"She referred to me as 'The Savage' then?" He replied with the same annoyance. Bruno just nodded. The Savage sighed, "I wish people would stop calling me that. I don't particularly enjoy it, but I honestly can't blame anyone for seeing me as that."

"You hate your name?" Bruno asked with a little surprise. "That _isn't_ my name. How'd you like it if everyone called you ice cream boy?" He growled with a hint of bloodlust. "I'm sorry." Bruno quickly apologized. "I have a proper name, and I liked to be addressed by it. It's Josh, what about you?" The now named fox-boy asked. "Bruno." He replied.

There was a brief moment of silence between the two. After a while Josh spoke up, "You said you've got a money problem, what exactly does that mean?" "I need a large loan, and the sooner the better. I need to buy a friend's freedom." Josh's fox ears twitched at this, as he grinned inwardly.

"Lobby 73, we'll talk there. Unless you feel like doing one last round before we go that is." Josh said as gave Bruno a bloodthirsty look, grinning just enough to show off his razor-sharp fox teeth. "No, no! That's fine! Let's go." Bruno almost shouted from terror. 'Damn, she wasn't kidding when she called him a blood-crazed fox!' He thought to himself as he struggled to look away from the crimson eyes that stared into his very soul.

~xXx~

Bruno scanned the lobby for a few seconds before he caught sight of the fox figure resting atop large floating clay letters. The letters themselves were part of words that described the game portals that lay on the ground below. It was already dark out, and a nighttime festival had started the previous hour. Bruno made his way past the large crowd until he was directly under his meeting spot. With a sharp kick to the ground, he launched himself up to the first set of letters, then the second, and finally the third layer where Josh was seated.

The black haired fox was gazing at the festival crowd below, without even looking over he motioned for Bruno to sit down. Bruno hung his legs over the edge next to Josh, following his eyes down to the festival below. After a moment he spoke up, "I didn't know there was going to be a festival tonight." "Yeah." Josh replied, "Once every few months one lobby is chosen to hold it for a night. I always come here and watch everyone as they mingle."

Bruno thought about this for a moment. "You don't join them?" He asked. Josh replied with a smile, "No, I'm just along for the ride. I'm just content watching instead of participating. Although, I'll occasionally go down for some food before returning here."

After a few minutes passed Josh finally looked towards the ice cream teen sitting near him. "What's your story then?" Bruno looked over at him and began explaining everything that happened over the past few days. How he met the pair, his decision to free Janice, and how he came to know about The Savage.

After he finished Josh returned to looking at the festival. Another moment of silence passed before he spoke again. "Rough story, but your little information source wasn't wrong. I've been loaning to people for a while now, and with the interest I get back it's enough to make a living here. How much does it cost to free her?" Josh asked.

"150,000 Shards and 420,000 Gems." Bruno quietly said. He didn't doubt that Josh has as much money as the wolf-girl said, but he was hesitant to ask for such a large amount. "Give me your locator information, I'll make the transfer." Bruno did as he was told. After a moment a rather large figured appeared on his screen. He gaped in shock as he read the numbers.

"You gave me 172,000 Shards and 530,000 Gems, I can't take that much." He said in shock. "I'm the seventh richest person here, I've stocked up a few million Gems and almost 950,000 Shards. By the time the other debts people owe me are paid off I'll reach the fourth or close to it. Don't worry about the extra, just consider it insurance incase that Orlando person decides to up the amount of cash." Josh said, returning his comment with a genuine smile. "I'll keep in touch. If it all goes well then we can work out a method to pay off your loan. If something happens and you don't get your deal, return it and we're fine."

Bruno couldn't express his thanks enough, he wanted to race off and find Orlando as soon as he could. However, enough common sense kept him still for a while longer. "Thank you, for everything." He said. "Glad I could help." The fox-boy said, still looking over the festival below them. "From the sounds of it, you love her don't you?" He asked Bruno after a minute.

Bruno decided to try and get off this darn subject again, "You look to be two or three years older than me. Have you been in love before?" Bruno could've sworn Josh's smile grew a little wider. "Well." The raven-haired boy spoke up. "You realize that Death Tag is the only game that changes your personality when you die, right?" Bruno nodded. "When someone really loves another, that emotion seems to push the killing intent aside and keeps the dominance of your original mind. Strange as it may sound, I've never given in to my killing intent. I've always managed to keep human self in control, but that doesn't mean I didn't use my killing urge to help when I die." Bruno looked at him with a puzzled look.

Josh continued. "What I mean is that even though I seem to be crazy with bloodlust all the time, I'm still in control. I won't attack close friends, but I won't hold back against anyone I don't know. You could say my undead side is stronger than anyone's, but has also merged with my human side. They're the same, but I can choose which one is a little more dominant."

"All that because you really love someone? You're right. That does sound crazy." Bruno said comically. Josh just closed his eyes and smirked. "But why do you kill like that to begin with?" Bruno asked him.

Josh's smile faded as he looked up to the stars above them, a feeling of seriousness surrounded him. After a few seconds he responded, "Bruno, have you ever been to the top?" "Hmm?" Bruno replied, clearly confused. "Have you ever been known as the best of the best?" "No, never have." Bruno answered him.

"It's incredible. Being up on top of the world, above everyone else. Once you get to the top you never forget the view, what's more is that you never want to give it to another person. As far as wins are concerned, I'm nearing the summit for Death Tag. Recently however, I lost the record for the most kills to another. I want nothing more than to reclaim my title and regain the record I worked so hard to achieve."

"How many do you need until you get the record back?" Bruno inquired. "If I'm lucky… only two thousand more." Bruno watched some children running around below them, playing a friendly game of tag. 'By the time he gets those two thousand kills, the other person will be another one or two thousand ahead of him, or maybe even more than that. He might never even get there again.' Bruno thought to himself, feeling a bit of sympathy for his new friend.

"I'm going to get some rest, I'll tell you how it goes." Bruno said as he stood up and stretched. "Take care of yourself out there." "And you as well Bruno." Josh replied with a friendly smile. Bruno leapt down to the ground and made his way over to a small food booth.

After getting a bowl of stew he teleported back to his house. Tomorrow was going to be the day he'd free Janice. His stomach fluttered at the thought of her gentile face. He couldn't wait, after a stroke of luck he got the money he needed to help Janice start a brand new life, a life of freedom. He slowly drifted off to sleep, still thinking about the next day.

~xXx~

Bruno awoke early the next morning, clearly excited for what was about to happen. He raced through his breakfast, a small bowl of cereal and some Grapefruit, and shot out the door so fast someone would think he was launched from a cannon. 'Not a moment to lose' he thought to himself. He searched for Orlando's location, after a moment his lobby was show on Bruno's locator screen. "Lobby-32. Teleportation." He said aloud. Moments later he was in the same lobby as the orange clad boy.

It didn't take him long to spot Orlando's orange suit from all the other clothing choices in the crowd. He quickly made his way over to Orlando and called out to get his attention. Orlando turned around to see who was calling his name. "Oh, it's you again. Come to tell me in person that you're giving up on Janice?" He said with an expressionless face.

"Nope!" Bruno said with pride. "I've got your money, I'll send it now." "You sure you have enough? I decided to raise it up to 164,000 Shards and 495,000 Gems. Hope that doesn't shatter your hopes too much." As Orlando finished speaking he looked down at his screen, reading the rather large numbers. "172,000 Shards and 530,000 Gems? How'd you come up with that, not to mention the extra?"

"Just consider it a token of my gratitude for giving me this opportunity. Hope you won't miss having a slave around." Bruno retorted, victory clear upon his face. Orlando's eyes narrowed slightly, however Bruno didn't notice. "Hmph. Don't get her killed, I kind of liked her." Orlando scoffed and started walking away. "Make sure to tell her she's free. Wouldn't want her pestering me any further."

Bruno was ready to teleport to her location to give her the great news, but first he had to share the news with Josh. Couldn't keep his business partner waiting longer than he should. After a quick call he made his way to the lobby Janice was in.

Bruno couldn't hold it in any longer, as soon as he saw Janice he shouted for joy. "Janice! Janice!" She looked up to see him running towards her. "Janice I did it! I got the money and you're free now." Janice just looked at him stunned. "How did you get that kind of money in just two short days?" She asked astonished.

"I got a loan from a very wealth person I met. He gave me a lot of extra cash just incase Orlando amped the price… which he did. None of that matters though; I still had extra so I paid him everything to keep him satisfied. You're free now." "A loan? How are you going to pay it back?" She asked with concern. "It's nothing, don't worry. He's a real nice guy. I'll be paying all my monthly bonuses and 80% of any income I make, total interest is 17%. We estimated that it will take around a decade or two, but it's ok. No late fees, and he doesn't mind how long it might take to…" Bruno was cut off when Janice threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you Bruno. I'm so happy. You did all this for me, thank you." She said as a few tears fell down her face.

Bruno returned the hug. "It's ok. Everything will be fine now." "What do I do now though?" Janice asked him. Bruno thought for a moment. "Well, how about we go check out the new game Speed Builders? Who knows, maybe we'll strike some good fortune." Janice just nodded before she tightened her hug once more. "I can't thank you enough." Bruno stroked her soft hair, 'I must be one lucky guy' he thought to himself.

~xXx~

Later that evening, during the dim moonlight, two figures could be seen standing near each other in an empty lobby. "So, looks like it worked." An orange-suited boy remarked. "I'll miss her a little, but no matter. She was a great servant, but all things must come to an end. I was right to call you that night."

"Feh, pure luck is what it was." A mysterious person retorted. "Who knew that I'd run into him so quickly though, much less that he'd be the one searching for me. I must say, Orlando, it's a great thing we met way back then. Our little hobby pays well, don't you think?"

Orlando nodded. "Can't be much happier with this. However now we'll need to find someone to replace her. Any ideas on who we should target next, Josh?"

The familiar raven-haired fox-boy sneered. "Oh? Not even a few hours after losing her, and you're already to move on. How interesting. I thought you were starting to like her, a bit more than the average slave if you know what I mean." Orlando deadpanned. "Did I strike a nerve? My bad."

"It's fine, I'm not about to walk out on you now, especially over a silly remark. People practically pay us to send our own money in a circle, only to end up back in our own pockets." Orlando reassured his partner.

"True, true. Can't get any better, money for free. However, we still need a new slave, someone that another guy will fall for and try to save. What about that one panda girl, the one that's really good at Death Tag? She would make a nice servant, and I know you've had your eye on her a few times now." Josh teased, eagerly awaiting Orlando's response.

"How about we leave her be. She doesn't need to be a part of this." Orlando replied coldly. "Don't you like how her voice caresses your ears? You'd get to spend every day with her if we did." The crimson-eyed boy continued on. Orlando was not amused by his partner's antics. He decided to poke back a little bit. "What about that Hannah girl you've been seeing? She'd make a nice one."

Josh simply smiled towards the dark grey clouds of the night. "Every moment in her presence makes my heart flutter in desire and my mind drown in a pool of happiness. Don't even think about trying anything on her." He said the last part with a hint of bloodlust to show his seriousness.

"How quaint. Hearing such romantic words from you is a bit out of character considering your personality. Regardless, we really should aim a bit higher this time. A simple hypnosis spell to rewrite someone's memories and they think they've been a slave all their life. Perhaps this time we should aim for someone that has connections with a Moderator? They could shift some hefty server funds our way in no time." Orlando mused.

"A nice idea. Not like the Moderator would do anything about it, otherwise our little servant wouldn't be able to return to a normal life. And they'd know it too. I do happen to know of a person that has connections with multiple Moderators. Remember that wolf-girl, the one with the blue jacket and dark skin?" Josh asked, his razor sharp teeth glowing in the moonlight as he put on a wicked smile.

Orlando returned with a grin just as evil. "How could I forget?"

~xXx~

That's the end of the story; I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'm not the most experienced writer, but I think this wasn't half bad for a story. Leave a review to tell me what you thought.

I also ended up writing a one shot to the story, not short enough to include in the story, but not long enough to get its own chapter. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the one shot. See you in the next story! o/

* * *

~x One Shot x~

Bruno raced across his platform, trying to place his final blocks down in their proper place. The timer was ticking fast, only five seconds left. Four. Three. Two. Bruno reached his destination and quickly placed down the final fence completed a small dining area with two lamps, chairs, and a table. He looked down at his locator, which went into statistics mode for the game of Speed Builders. A bright 100% was shown on the screen, guaranteeing Bruno's advancement to the next round. One of his two opponents however, weren't so lucky.

In a flash of lightning one of the two's islands exploded into a thousand pieces, a punishment from Gwen the Guardian for not completing her build properly. Bruno wiped the sweat from his brow, as the next build was show. He smiled as he looked at it, a large clay cactus with nine pricks around the sides.

He heard Janice cheering him from the sidelines of the large lake. The lake itself was crystal clear and had a small water temple located at the center. Around the edges of the lake were beautiful flowers that fully bloomed as the day reached its peak.

The timer buzzed and Bruno, along with his last opponent, started placing blocks as quickly as they could. Bruno built his cactus in layers, three blocks wide, three blocks thick, six blocks high. After he finished with the green clay he reached for the black clay and placed one in the center of the top. He leapt down and started placing the remaining eight in a repeating pattern all around the cactus, except for one side. The tricky thing about this build that Bruno enjoyed is one side has its prick slightly lower than the other three.

The other boy searched Bruno's build thoroughly to find the mistake he made, however the lower thorn of the cactus was hidden from view. As the timer hit zero they both were moved into spectator mode as Gwen judged them. After just a few seconds the boy's cactus erupted into a fiery explosion. Janice cheered for joy as Bruno won yet another game of his new favorite game.

Bruno joined Janice in the stands as Gwen called forth the next group of participants. "Wow" the bunny girl remarked. "You've gotten so good at this in just a few days. I can't believe it." Bruno just smiled at her comment, trying to fight back a blush. (Which he failed to do so). Janice noticed this and decided to tease him a bit. "Are your cheeks turning strawberry again or is the heat just getting to you?" She asked with a coy smile.

"Uh… yeah it's the heat. How about we get something for lunch? You must be hungry by now." The ice cream boy said, trying to recover from her previous remark. "Sure, your treat Speed Builder Champion." She answered him before pulling on his arm to get him to follow her. He smiled as he felt her warm hands on his arm.

~xXx~

It was late in the evening when the young couple finally arrived home. Bruno made his way over to the couch and sat down. He was exhausted from his long day, strange as it may seem. He started Speed Builders only recently and was still out of shape compared to his competition. However, he was still nimble and had good stamina to keep pressing forward with full determination.

He closed his eyes in thought, recalling all the builds he completed earlier that day. He thought in great detail about how to recreate them, and how to improve his times with each one. He had already come across nearly one hundred fifty different builds, and there were still countless more for him to discover, he couldn't be caught off guard by any of them. As he opened his eyes he noticed Janice had sat down next to him.

"What're you thinking about?" She asked as she leaned against his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. " "Nothing much." Bruno replied. "Just about Speed Builders. There's still so much I have to learn, it's nothing like Death Tag. I know this much for sure, I will be the best one day." Janice pouted playfully. "You aren't thinking about me then?" Bruno smiled. "If I told you about every time I thought of you, I'd never have time for anything else." Janice blushed a little at his soft words.

"You know." Janice replied. "The night isn't over yet, how about we have a little fun before turning in?" She asked as she gently stroked his cheek. Bruno could feel his cheeks flushing rapidly at her words. "Oh, what did you have in mind?" He asked a little nervously. Janice pulled him into a deep kiss. After Bruno recovered from his shock he returned her kiss, bringing his arms around her.

Janice felt him bringing her into a hug, only to encourage her even more. She enjoyed every moment of their embrace. Bruno silently asked for entrance into her mouth; Janice eagerly granted him this and their tongues started battling for dominance. After a few minutes of this Bruno grew bolder and started reaching down for…

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